What items can I easily replace with plastic free or less plastic alternatives?
I seriously had that bottle of vinegar for probably close to a year. I use it mainly for cleaning, so that’s definitely less plastic than I would use if I was constantly buying “cleaning products.” I’m think that I can get vinegar in a glass bottle.

I bought the cashew butter for a recipe. Knowing now that I can definitely use almond or peanut butter instead.

The crispy rice cereal was used to make granola bars. It’s definitely less plastic than the alternative (of buying individually wrapped granola bars). I can’t find it in bulk, so my only other option would be to make granola bars without it.

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic free alternative doesn’t exist?

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
Vacuum cleaner bags. We’ve had the same vacuum for 15 years… it’s commercial grade (no plastic on it!). In the time we’ve owned it we’ve only had to take it in for service 1 time… so we definitely won’t be switching how we vacuum our rugs. Good news is that we don’t go through bags too often.

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
Even with having the milk cap in our tally this week, we actually went without buying milk for an entire week. It’s something that we definitely don’t need as I made homemade almond milk instead. BUT… my kids have drawn a conclusion. They only like almond milk in smoothies (and baked goods) and it’s a no go for anything else… which includes granola. For them, milk is a necessity. ;)